KR102388907B1 - A control module of an apparatus for measuring proton dose distribution using prompt gamma and positron emission tomography images - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a control module of a proton dose distribution measuring device in the body and a method for calculating proton dose distribution information in the body using an instant gamma ray image and a positron emission tomography image. It relates to a technology that can improve the accuracy and efficiency of the measurement of proton dose in the body by pre-processing the instantaneous gamma image detected by the measuring device capable of measuring the dose distribution.

Description

A CONTROL MODULE OF AN APPARATUS FOR MEASURING PROTON DOSE DISTRIBUTION USING PROMPT GAMMA AND POSITRON EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY IMAGES

The present invention relates to a control module of an apparatus for measuring proton dose distribution in the body and a method for calculating proton dose distribution information in the body using an instantaneous gamma-ray image and a positron emission tomography image, specifically, an instantaneous gamma-ray image and a positron emission tomography image It relates to a technology capable of improving the image quality by preprocessing the instantaneous gamma-ray measurement information detected by a device that can estimate the proton dose distribution in the body by acquiring all

Radiation therapy is one of the three major cancer treatment methods along with surgery and chemotherapy using chemotherapy. .

Radiation therapy is broadly divided into two areas: external radiation therapy, which treats cancer by irradiating high-energy X-rays or gamma rays, protons, or heavy ion particles from the outside, and brachytherapy, which treats cancer by injecting radioactive isotopes into the body. there is.

In particular, during external radiation therapy, proton therapy refers to a method of accelerating protons, which are atomic hydrogen nuclei, to increase energy and then irradiating them to the patient's tumor location. It shows a dose characteristic (Bragg Peak) that transfers most of the energy to the surrounding material.

The specific depth through which most of the energy is delivered is determined according to the initial energy of the accelerated proton, and the SOBP (Spread Out (SOBP) Treatment is performed by creating a Bragg Peak).

Unlike the most common radiation therapy using X-rays, which deliver the maximum dose near the skin and the delivered dose gradually decreases as it goes deep into the body, proton therapy can reduce the dose delivered to normal tissues, so It has the advantage of reducing the incidence of secondary cancer.

On the other hand, as confirmed in FIG. 1, in the case of X-rays, only a 3% dose difference occurs for a depth error of 1 cm, but in the case of a proton beam, a dose difference of up to 90% can occur for the same depth error. Given this, it is very important to accurately predict the dose drop point (or irregularity) of the proton beam in proton therapy.

That is, if the point of sharp drop in the dose of the proton beam is not accurately predicted due to errors occurring in the beam delivery device, treatment plan, patient setup, etc., the planned dose may not be delivered to the cancer tissue, or excessive dose may be delivered to surrounding major organs. there is.

Therefore, there is a need for an apparatus and method capable of accurately confirming in real time the drop point of the actually delivered proton dose in the patient's body.

On the other hand, the following prior art literature discloses a technology for a PET-MRI fusion system, but does not disclose the technical gist of the present invention.

Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2010-0060193

The control module and method for measuring proton dose distribution in the body using instantaneous gamma ray image and positron emission tomography image according to an embodiment of the present invention are for solving the above problems. do.

A control module of the proton dose distribution measuring device in the body that can prevent problems in which the planned dose cannot be delivered to cancer tissue during proton treatment or excessive dose can be delivered to surrounding major organs by accurately determining the point of sharp drop in the proton dose in the patient's body And to provide a method for measuring the proton dose distribution in the body.

The problems to be solved of the present invention are not limited to those mentioned above, and other problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art from the following description.

The control module of the apparatus for measuring proton dose distribution in the body using the instantaneous gamma-ray image and the positron emission tomography image according to an embodiment of the present invention is disposed inside the gantry, and the instantaneous gamma-ray generated by the interaction of the proton beam with the medium and the generated positron An apparatus for measuring proton dose distribution in the body, comprising: a detection module that detects at least one of extinction radiation generated near an emitter and includes a plurality of detectors; and a collimator module that includes a plurality of collimators that are detachably formed at the front end of the detector The present invention relates to a proton dose distribution control module in the body, comprising: a first acquisition unit receiving information on detection of immediate gamma rays generated near the positron emitter from the detection module; a second acquisition unit receiving detection information of extinction radiation generated near the positron emitter from the detection module; a pre-processing unit performing pre-processing for reducing noise caused by background radiation among the instantaneous gamma-ray detection information acquired by the first obtaining unit; an immediate gamma-ray image generator for generating an instantaneous gamma-ray image based on the instantaneous gamma-ray detection information preprocessed by the preprocessor; a positron emission tomography image generation unit for generating a positron emission tomography image based on detection information of extinction radiation generated near the positron emitter; and a proton dose distribution information generating unit that calculates proton dose distribution information based on the instantaneous gamma ray image and the positron emission tomography image.

Preferably, the pre-processing unit includes a first pre-processing unit that extracts only detection information within a preset energy range from among the instantaneous gamma-ray detection information detected by the detection module.

The detector may include: a scintillator configured by combining and arranging a plurality of scintillation crystal cells having a polygonal columnar shape; a photoelectric conversion unit coupled to one end of the scintillator to convert the flash signal transmitted from the scintillator into an electrical signal and output it; and a detection circuit unit that is electrically connected to the photoelectric conversion unit and converts the electrical signal transmitted from the photoelectric conversion unit into data through a preset detection algorithm and transmits it to the control module.

The pre-processing unit, when the radiation generated by the proton beam is incident on the plurality of scintillation crystal cells, grasps incident depth information to which the radiation reacts in the scintillation crystal cells, and the first scintillation crystal cell reacted at the shallowest depth It is preferable to include a; after determining the position of the initial radiation incident position, a second pre-processing unit that considers the sum of the energy transferred to the plurality of scintillation crystal cells as the energy detected by the first scintillation crystal cell.

The detector may include: a first photosensor disposed at one end of the plurality of scintillation crystal cells; and a second photosensor disposed at the other end of the plurality of flash crystal cells.

The amount of light generated by the radiation based on energy transfer to the plurality of scintillation crystal cells is collected by the first optical sensor and the second optical sensor, and the incident depth information is obtained from the first optical sensor and the second optical sensor. Preferably, it is determined based on the ratio of the amount of the light collected by the sensor.

Preferably, the pre-processing unit includes a third pre-processing unit that extracts only detection information within a preset time range from among the instantaneous gamma-ray detection information detected by the detection module.

The control module and the method for measuring the proton dose distribution in the body using the instantaneous gamma ray image and the positron emission tomography image according to an embodiment of the present invention are to precisely check the radiation dose distribution in the body of the patient in the field of proton therapy. By proposing a measurement technology that can apply both the instantaneous gamma-ray distribution measurement and PET scan method, which have been studied for this purpose, it can be expected to accurately identify the dose drop point and three-dimensional dose distribution.

Effects of the present invention are not limited to those mentioned above, and other effects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art from the following description.

1 is a graph showing the dose distribution of an X-ray beam and a proton beam for treatment according to the depth of water, and the change in dose of the X-ray and proton beam with respect to a 1 cm depth error.
FIG. 2 is an image reconstructed through PET of a proton dose distribution and a distribution of a positron emitter generated by the same beam.
3 is a graph showing the distribution of doses by proton beams of 80, 150, and 220 MeV energy and the distribution of instantaneous gamma rays generated by each proton beam according to depth.
4 and 5 are conceptual diagrams of an apparatus for measuring proton dose distribution in the body using an immediate gamma ray image and a positron emission tomography image according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a detailed configuration of a detector among the configurations of an apparatus for measuring proton dose distribution in the body using an instantaneous gamma ray image and a positron emission tomography image according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a perspective view of a collimator in the configuration of an apparatus for measuring proton dose distribution in the body using an instantaneous gamma ray image and a positron emission tomography image according to an embodiment of the present invention.
8 to 11 are conceptual diagrams illustrating various embodiments of a detachable structure of a collimator in an apparatus for measuring proton dose distribution in the body using an instantaneous gamma ray image and a positron emission tomography image according to an embodiment of the present invention.
12 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of a control module in the configuration of an apparatus for measuring a proton dose distribution in the body using an instantaneous gamma ray image and a positron emission tomography image according to an embodiment of the present invention.
13 to 16 are diagrams for explaining the function of a preprocessor in an apparatus for measuring proton dose distribution in the body using an instantaneous gamma ray image and a positron emission tomography image according to an embodiment of the present invention.
17 is a flowchart illustrating a method for measuring a proton dose distribution in the body using an instantaneous gamma ray image and a positron emission tomography image according to an embodiment of the present invention in time series.
FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating detailed steps of generating proton dose distribution information in the body of a subject among the steps of FIG. 17 .

A preferred embodiment according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the same or similar components are assigned the same reference numerals regardless of reference numerals, and redundant description thereof will be omitted.

In addition, in the description of the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed description of a related known technology may obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted. In addition, it should be noted that the accompanying drawings are only for easy understanding of the spirit of the present invention, and should not be construed as limiting the spirit of the present invention by the accompanying drawings.

Positron emission tomography technology was first proposed in 1978, and using the principle that two extinction photons are emitted in a 180 degree direction when positrons generated from a positron emitter combine with negative electrons in the surrounding medium, numerous extinction radiation Based on the trajectory of the three-dimensional positron emitter distribution can be imaged.

The proton beam generates positron emitters such as ¹⁵ O, ¹¹ C, and ¹³ N through a nuclear reaction with ¹⁶ O, ¹² C, and ¹⁴ N, which are the main atoms constituting the human body.

Since the generated positron emitter decays with a short half-life of 2 to 20 minutes, measurement must be performed immediately after treatment, and the three-dimensional distribution of the proton dose can be inferred through the measured distribution of the positron emitter.

However, since this positron emission tomography technique does not have a direct correlation between the positron emitter distribution and the proton dose, as shown in FIG. there is.

On the other hand, nucleons placed in an excited state through a nuclear reaction with protons emit high-energy gamma rays of the MeV unit within a short period of time, which is called immediate gamma rays. With this high characteristic, it has the advantage of being able to precisely identify the point of sharp drop in dose.

3 shows the correlation between the distribution of doses delivered to the body by the proton beam (solid red line) and the generation distribution of instantaneous gamma rays (solid black line), which differs according to the energy of the proton beam. There is a lack of a system capable of measuring high-energy instantaneous gamma rays with high efficiency and high resolution for non-deterministic verification of the beam, and there is a problem in that it is difficult to obtain the dose distribution in three dimensions.

The apparatus for measuring proton dose distribution in the body using instantaneous gamma ray imaging and positron emission tomography according to an embodiment of the present invention is a measuring device capable of fusion of the advantages of the two technologies described above. It is a device that can accurately measure the proton dose distribution in a patient in real time by fusing the instant gamma-ray image that can be confirmed and the positron emission tomography image that can confirm the three-dimensional range of the proton beam.

In order to implement the above-described function, the apparatus for measuring the proton dose distribution in the body using an instantaneous gamma ray image and a positron emission tomography image according to an embodiment of the present invention is a detection module 100 and a collimator module as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 . 200 and the control module 300 is configured to include.

The detection module 100 is disposed inside the gantry and performs a function of detecting at least one of immediate gamma rays and positron emitters generated by the proton beam, and the detection module 100 includes a plurality of detectors 110 . It is preferably configured such that the detection module 110 is arranged in an annular shape around the object 10 to be inspected.

Meanwhile, each detector 110 may be configured to include a scintillator 111 , a photoelectric conversion unit 112 , and a detection circuit unit 113 as shown in FIG. 6 .

The scintillator 111 is configured by combining a plurality of scintillation crystal cells having a polygonal columnar shape, and the photoelectric conversion unit 112 is coupled to one end of the scintillator 111 to provide a flash signal transmitted from the scintillator 111 . It is a configuration that converts and outputs an electrical signal.

The detection circuit unit 113 is electrically connected to the photoelectric conversion unit 112 and converts the electrical signal transmitted from the photoelectric conversion unit 112 into data through a preset detection algorithm and transmits it to the control module 300 . is a configuration that

The collimator module 200 is configured to include a plurality of collimators 210 that are formed to be detachably attached to the front end of the detector 110 , and the collimator 210 has a plurality of collimator holes 211 as shown in FIG. 7 . It is preferable that the parallel porous type collimators are spaced apart and arranged at a predetermined interval.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4 , the instantaneous gamma ray should be detected while the proton beam is irradiated. At this time, since a lot of background radiation is generated, the accuracy of the measurement may not be guaranteed. In a state where the 210 is attached to the front end of the detector 110, the instantaneous gamma rays generated by the proton beam must be detected.

After the irradiation of the proton beam is completed, as shown in FIG. 5, the collimator 210 is removed from the front end of the detector 110, and extinction radiation generated near the positron emitter generated by the proton beam is detected. .

That is, the collimator module 200 should be configured to be movable inside the gantry according to the detection time of the instantaneous gamma ray and the detection time of the positron emitter. Consider two implementations for the movement of the collimator module 200. can

In the case of the first embodiment, in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 , the collimator module 200 includes a transfer unit 220 coupled to a side surface of the collimator 210 , and the transfer unit 220 is a gantry on the inner circumferential surface of the gantry. It may be configured to be movable on the transfer rail 20 formed along the longitudinal direction of the.

That is, when irradiating the positron beam, the collimator 210 is disposed at the front end of the detector 110 as shown in FIG. 8 , so that the detector 110 detects the instantaneous gamma ray. As shown, the collimator 210 is removed from the front end of the detector 110 by the driving of the transfer unit 220, and the detector 110 emits extinction radiation generated near the positron emitter from the subject 10. will detect

In the case of the second embodiment, in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 , the detection module 100 is configured to include a plurality of detectors 110 arranged in an annular shape, and the collimator module 200 includes a plurality of detectors ( It may be configured to include a plurality of collimators 210 corresponding to 110 and a support ring 230 supporting the plurality of collimators 210 .

The support ring 230 is rotatably disposed inside the gantry, and when the positron beam is irradiated, the collimator 210 is disposed at the front end of the detector 110 as shown in FIG. However, in a state in which irradiation of the positron beam is completed, as shown in FIG. 11 , the support ring 230 rotates so that the collimator 210 is removed from the front end of the detector 110 , in which case the detector 110 is the subject. The extinction radiation generated near the positron emitter from (10) is detected.

The control module 300 is configured to measure the proton dose distribution in the body of the subject 10 based on the instantaneous gamma rays and positron emitters detected by the detection module 100, and as shown in FIG. 12 , the first acquisition It is configured to include a unit 310 , a second acquisition unit 320 , an immediate gamma ray image generation unit 330 , a positron emission tomography image generation unit 340 , and a proton dose distribution information generation unit 350 .

The first acquisition unit 310 performs a function of receiving immediate gamma-ray detection information from the detection module 100 , and the second acquisition unit 320 delivers detection information about the positron emitter distribution from the detection module 100 . perform the receiving function.

The instantaneous gamma-ray image generator 330 performs a function of generating an immediate gamma-ray image based on the instantaneous gamma-ray detection information acquired by the first acquirer 310, and the positron emission tomography image generator 340 acquires the second The unit 320 performs a function of generating a positron emission tomography image based on the acquired detection information of the positron emitter.

The proton dose distribution information generator 350 calculates proton dose distribution information based on the instantaneous gamma-ray image and the positron emission tomography image generated by the instantaneous gamma-ray image generator 330 and the positron emission tomography image generator 340, respectively. perform the function

On the other hand, when the high-energy proton beam interacts with the medium of the subject 10, not only immediate gamma rays or positron emitters, but also a lot of background radiation such as neutrons, alpha, beta, and gamma rays independent of the dose distribution are generated.

Since PET images measuring the distribution of positron emitters are measured after proton beam irradiation, there is relatively little background radiation, whereas immediate gamma-ray measurement is performed during proton beam irradiation, so pretreatment of background radiation, which is noise, is required.

Accordingly, the control module 300 may further include a preprocessing unit 360 that performs preprocessing for reducing noise caused by background radiation among the instantaneous gamma ray detection information acquired by the first acquiring unit 310 . It is preferable that the sex image generator 330 generates an immediate gamma-ray image based on the pre-processed immediate gamma-ray information.

In particular, in the apparatus for measuring proton dose distribution in the body using instantaneous gamma ray imaging and positron emission tomography according to an embodiment of the present invention, energy window (hereinafter referred to as 'EW') technology, Depth of interaction (hereinafter referred to as 'EW') to reduce background radiation DOI') and time of flight (hereinafter referred to as 'TOF') technology, etc. are used to pre-process the instantaneous gamma rays, which will be described below with reference to FIGS. 13 to 16 .

First, in relation to the EW technology, FIG. 13 shows that the instantaneous gamma ray (purple solid line) and other background radiation (orange solid line) generated while the 150 MeV proton beam passes through the water phantom pass through the porous collimator to 9.6 * 9.6 * 3 cm ³ The energy spectrum absorbed by the scintillator is shown.

The black dotted line shows the kinetic energy spectrum of the instantaneous gamma ray recorded on the surface of the water phantom, and except for very low energies, the trend with the highest occurrence frequency is confirmed at about 4.4 MeV and 5.2 MeV.

The energy spectrum absorbed by the 9.6 * 9.6 * 3 cm ³ scintillator has a relatively high low energy region due to the scattering effect, but shows a high frequency at the same energy as the reference energy spectrum in the energy region above 3 MeV.

However, the amount of background radiation produced by the 150 MeV proton beam is 280 times higher than that of instantaneous gamma rays, and the energy absorbed by the scintillator by the background radiation gradually decreases from low energy to an exponential function.

If instantaneous gamma rays are measured in the entire energy region without designating any specific energy range on the system, the effect of background radiation is very large and it is difficult to obtain an accurate dose distribution. If a specific energy region with a high ratio of instantaneous gamma rays is determined and then the distribution of instantaneous gamma rays is measured by counting only the number of radiations entering the region, the prediction accuracy of the dose distribution is significantly higher than that of the entire energy region.

Therefore, in order to implement the above-described EW technology, the pre-processing unit 360 preferably includes a first pre-processing unit that extracts only detection information within a preset energy range from among the instantaneous gamma-ray detection information detected by the detection module.

Second, in the case of DOI technology, as shown in FIG. 14 , when one radiation is incident on the scintillator assembly 100, the depth information to which the radiation reacts in each unit scintillator is found, and the reaction at the shallowest depth is found. It is a technique of giving the sum of energy transferred to each unit scintillator to the unit scintillator after determining that the position of the unit scintillator is the initial radiation incident position.

At this time, the depth information reacted by each unit scintillator can be confirmed by attaching sensors to both ends of the scintillator, and using the ratio of the amount of light generated as the radiation transmits energy to the scintillator is collected at both ends.

On the other hand, FIG. 15 shows the absorption energy spectrum in the scintillator when the DOI technology is applied and when the DOI technique is not applied. It can be seen that the ratio of the low-energy region is increased compared to the comparison.

This phenomenon can be understood as firstly the effect of scattered rays generated from the reaction with the collimator, and secondly, the effect of the energy transfer characteristics according to the reaction probability with the scintillator.

Among them, DOI technology is a technology that can increase efficiency and accurately measure instantaneous gamma rays by minimizing the effect of energy transfer characteristics according to the reaction probability with the scintillator.

For example, when the detector 100 having 7 unit scintillators is viewed from the side as shown in FIG. 14 , gamma rays of 4.4 MeV are incident on the 4th unit scintillator, and the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th unit scintillators are Assuming that 1 MeV, 2.4 MeV, and 1 MeV energies are absorbed, respectively, when only 3-7 MeV EW is applied without DOI technology, it is recognized that 3.2 MeV gamma rays were incident on the second unit scintillator among the three unit scintillators. When DOI technology is applied, it is recognized that 4.4 MeV gamma rays are incident on the 4th unit scintillator.

When DOI technology is not applied, the energy spectrum absorbed by each unit scintillator is the standard of EW, and when DOI technology is applied, the energy spectrum absorbed by the entire scintillator assembly is the standard.

The graph of FIG. 15 shows the energy spectrum absorbed by the unit scintillator at five positions and the energy spectrum absorbed by the entire scintillator assembly. When the DOI technology is not applied, the frequency at which energy of 2 MeV or less is absorbed by each scintillator was confirmed to be quite high, and in the energy region of 2 MeV or higher, the frequency of absorbed energy was found to be relatively high in the 78th unit scintillator, which has a high intensity of instantaneous gamma ray generation, compared to other unit scintillators, according to the proton dose distribution.

As described above, when the distribution of instantaneous gamma rays is measured only in the energy region of 3 to 5 MeV using the EW technique, the proton dose distribution can be inferred from the difference in the frequency of absorbed energy.

When the DOI technology is applied, since the absorbed energy is analyzed based on the entire scintillator assembly rather than each unit scintillator, the frequency of absorbed energy in the low energy region was found to be relatively low compared to when the DOI technology was not applied. The frequency of absorbed energy in the region is increased, which can be a great advantage for the purpose of improving the sensitivity of the instantaneous gamma-ray measurement system.

Hereinafter, the third, TOF technology will be described with reference to FIG. 16, which shows the temporal distribution of the generation of radiation on the surface of the water phantom of the 150 MeV proton beam passing through the center of the 30 * 20 * 20 cm3 water phantom. This is a graph showing

In the Monte Carlo simulation, the proton beam was irradiated at a position 100 cm away from the surface of the water phantom, and as a result of time distribution analysis, the proton beam moved 100 cm to the water phantom, It was confirmed that gamma rays (solid red line) traveled a distance of 10 cm and were detected on the surface of the detector from about 6 ns after a certain period of time. .

In particular, the green solid line in the graph of FIG. 16 shows the temporal distribution of gamma rays (eg, delayed gamma rays, scattered gamma rays) other than the immediate gamma rays generated in the medium by radiation such as protons, immediate gamma rays, and neutrons, and the blue solid line shows the temporal distribution of neutrons It shows the distribution, and it is confirmed that radiation such as gamma rays and neutrons, except for immediate gamma rays, is generated up to several μs.

By using TOF technology, the signal is processed only for 1.5 ns from 6 ns, the highest intensity of the instant gamma ray, and no signal processing is performed in the rest of the time domain, thereby effectively removing background radiation.

However, the intensity of the proton beam accelerated in the cyclotron changes in the form of a pulse with a radio-frequency (RF) period. As a result, in an actual instantaneous gamma-ray detection system, the signal processing start period of the detector should be set according to the RF period, and it is preferable that the circuit be configured such that the signal processing is performed only for about 1.5 ns from the start time.

Hereinafter, a method for measuring a proton dose distribution in the body using an instantaneous gamma ray image and a positron emission tomography image according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 17 and 18 .

The method for measuring the proton dose distribution in the body using the instantaneous gamma-ray image and the positron emission tomography image according to an embodiment of the present invention is to measure the proton dose distribution in the body using the instantaneous gamma-ray image and the positron emission tomography image according to the embodiment of the present invention described above. As a method for measuring the proton dose distribution in the body using the device, the details of the proton dose distribution measuring device in the body have been described above, so the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In the method for measuring the proton dose distribution in the body using the instantaneous gamma ray image and the positron emission tomography image according to an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 17, first, a control module ( 300) The step of moving the collimator module 100 is performed first.

Thereafter, the step of irradiating the proton beam to the subject disposed inside the gantry (S200) and the step of detecting the instantaneous gamma rays generated by the proton beam by the detection module 100 (S300) are sequentially performed.

After that, the control module 300 moves the collimator module 200 so that the irradiation of the proton beam is stopped and the collimator 210 is removed from the front end of the detector 110 (S400) and the detection module 200 is applied to the proton beam. The step (S500) of detecting the positron emitter generated by the method is sequentially performed.

Finally, the control module 300 generates proton dose distribution information in the body of the subject 10 based on the instantaneous gamma rays and positron emitters detected by the detection module 100 (S600) is performed. The step of generating proton dose distribution information in the body (S600) can be subdivided into specific steps as shown in FIG. 18 .

First, the first acquisition unit 310 acquires the instantaneous gamma-ray detection information (S610), the preprocessor 360 pre-processes the instantaneous gamma-ray detection information (S620), and the instantaneous gamma image generator 330 performs the first A step ( S3630 ) of generating a base term immediate gamma-ray image based on the acquired immediate gamma-ray detection information by the acquisition unit 310 is performed.

In particular, in the case of the step of pre-processing the instantaneous gamma-ray detection information ( S620 ), the above-described EW technology, DOI technology, TOF technology, etc. may be applied, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Thereafter, the second acquisition unit 320 acquires the detection information of the positron emitter (S640), and the positron emission tomography image generator 340 acquires the positron emitter detection information obtained by the second acquirer 320 A step (S650) of generating a positron emission tomography image based on the

Finally, the dose distribution information generating unit 350 calculating the proton dose distribution information based on the instantaneous gamma ray image and the positron emission tomography image (S660) is performed.

The apparatus and method for measuring the proton dose distribution in the body using the instantaneous gamma-ray image and the positron emission tomography image according to an embodiment of the present invention described above is a three-dimensional proton beam at the same time as the distribution of instantaneous gamma-rays that enable precise identification of the point of sharp drop in dose. It is a fusion technology that can simultaneously acquire positron emission tomography images showing the dose distribution of

The embodiments described in this specification and the accompanying drawings are merely illustrative of some of the technical ideas included in the present invention. Therefore, since the embodiments disclosed in the present specification are for explanation rather than limitation of the technical spirit of the present invention, it is obvious that the scope of the technical spirit of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. Modifications and specific embodiments that can be easily inferred by a person of ordinary skill in the art within the scope of the technical idea included in the specification and drawings of the present invention are included in the scope of the present invention. will have to be interpreted.

100: detection module
200: collimator module
300: control module

Claims (18)

A collimator comprising a detection module disposed inside the gantry to detect at least one of instantaneous gamma rays and positron emitters generated by the proton beam and including a plurality of detectors, and a plurality of collimators detachably formed at the front end of the detector In the body proton dose distribution control module for controlling the body proton dose distribution measuring device including the module,
a first acquisition unit receiving the instantaneous gamma-ray detection information from the detection module;
a second acquisition unit receiving detection information related to the distribution of the positron emitter from the detection module;
a pre-processing unit performing pre-processing for reducing noise caused by background radiation among the instantaneous gamma-ray detection information acquired by the first obtaining unit;
an immediate gamma-ray image generator for generating an instantaneous gamma-ray image based on the instantaneous gamma-ray detection information preprocessed by the preprocessor;
a positron emission tomography image generator for generating a positron emission tomography image based on the detection information related to the distribution of the positron emitter; and
a proton dose distribution information generating unit that calculates proton dose distribution information based on the instantaneous gamma ray image and the positron emission tomography image;
A control module for a device for measuring proton dose distribution in the body using an instantaneous gamma-ray image and a positron emission tomography image, comprising:
The method according to claim 1, The pre-processing unit,
A control module of an apparatus for measuring proton dose distribution in the body using an immediate gamma-ray image and a positron emission tomography image, including a first pre-processing unit that extracts only detection information within a preset energy range from among the instantaneous gamma-ray detection information detected by the detection module.
The method according to claim 1, wherein the detector,
a scintillator comprising a plurality of scintillation crystal cells having a polygonal columnar shape combined and arranged;
a photoelectric conversion unit coupled to one end of the scintillator to convert the flash signal transmitted from the scintillator into an electrical signal and output it; and
a detection circuit unit electrically connected to the photoelectric conversion unit, converting an electrical signal transmitted from the photoelectric conversion unit into data through a preset detection algorithm, and transmitting it to the control module;
A control module for a device for measuring proton dose distribution in the body using an instantaneous gamma-ray image and a positron emission tomography image, comprising:
The method according to claim 3, The pre-processing unit,
When the radiation generated by the proton beam is incident on the plurality of scintillation crystal cells, information on the incident depth to which the radiation reacts in the scintillation crystal cells is grasped, and the position of the first scintillation crystal cell reacted at the shallowest depth is initially determined. a second pre-processing unit that considers the sum of the energy transferred to the plurality of flash crystal cells as energy detected by the first flash crystal cell after determining that it is the incident position of the radiation;
A control module of an apparatus for measuring proton dose distribution in the body using an instantaneous gamma-ray image and a positron emission tomography image, comprising:
The method according to claim 4, wherein the detector,
a first photosensor disposed at one end of the plurality of flash crystal cells; and
a second photosensor disposed at the other end of the plurality of flash crystal cells;
A control module of the apparatus for measuring proton dose distribution in the body using an instantaneous gamma-ray image and a positron emission tomography image further comprising a.
6. The method of claim 5,
Collecting the amount of light generated based on the energy transfer to the plurality of scintillation crystal cells by the radiation in the first photosensor and the second photosensor,
The incident depth information is a control module of an apparatus for measuring proton dose distribution in the body using an instantaneous gamma-ray image and a positron emission tomography image, which is determined based on a ratio of the amount of light collected by the first and second optical sensors.
The method according to claim 1, The pre-processing unit,
A control module of an apparatus for measuring proton dose distribution in the body using an instantaneous gamma-ray image and a positron emission tomography image, including a third pre-processing unit that extracts only detection information within a preset time range from among the instantaneous gamma-ray detection information detected by the detection module.
a detection module disposed inside the gantry to detect at least one of immediate gamma rays and positron emitters generated by the proton beam, the detection module including a plurality of detectors;
a collimator module including a plurality of collimators formed to be detachably attached to the front end of the detector; and
a control module for measuring a proton dose distribution in the body of the subject based on the instantaneous gamma rays and positron emitters detected by the detection module;
including,
The detection module detects instantaneous gamma rays generated by the proton beam while the proton beam is irradiated while the collimator is attached to the front end of the detector. Detecting the positron emitter generated by the proton beam in a state separated from the front end,
The control module includes a preprocessor that performs preprocessing for reducing noise caused by background radiation among the instantaneous gamma ray detection information detected by the detection module,
The detector is
a scintillator comprising a plurality of scintillation crystal cells having a polygonal columnar shape combined and arranged;
a photoelectric conversion unit coupled to one end of the scintillator to convert the flash signal transmitted from the scintillator into an electrical signal and output; and
and a detection circuit unit that is electrically connected to the photoelectric conversion unit and converts the electrical signal transmitted from the photoelectric conversion unit into data through a preset detection algorithm and transmits it to the control module; and
When the radiation generated by the proton beam is incident on the plurality of scintillation crystal cells, the pre-processing unit grasps incident depth information to which the radiation reacts in the scintillation crystal cells, and the first scintillation crystal cell reacted at the shallowest depth Immediate gamma-ray image and positron emission including a second pre-processing unit that, after determining the position as the initial radiation incident position, considers the sum of the energy transferred to the plurality of scintillation crystal cells as the energy detected by the first scintillation crystal cell A device for measuring proton dose distribution in the body using tomography.
The method according to claim 8, wherein the pre-processing unit,
and a first pre-processing unit for extracting only detection information within a preset energy range from among the instantaneous gamma-ray detection information detected by the detection module.
delete delete 9. The method of claim 8,
Collecting the amount of light generated based on the energy transfer to the plurality of scintillation crystal cells by the radiation in the first photosensor and the second photosensor,
The incident depth information is an apparatus for measuring proton dose distribution in the body using an instantaneous gamma ray image and a positron emission tomography image, which is determined based on a ratio of the amount of light collected by the first and second optical sensors.
The method according to claim 8, wherein the pre-processing unit,
and a third pre-processing unit for extracting only detection information within a preset time range from among the instantaneous gamma-ray detection information detected by the detection module.
In the method for calculating proton dose distribution information in the body using the control module of the apparatus for measuring proton dose distribution in the body using the instantaneous gamma-ray image and positron emission tomography image according to claim 1,
obtaining, by the first obtaining unit, the instantaneous gamma-ray detection information;
pre-processing, by the pre-processing unit, the instantaneous gamma-ray detection information;
generating, by the instantaneous gamma-ray image generator, an instantaneous gamma-ray image based on the preprocessed instantaneous gamma-ray detection information;
obtaining, by the second obtaining unit, detection information of the positron emitter;
generating, by the positron emission tomography image generation unit, a positron emission tomography image based on the detection information of the positron emitter; and
calculating, by the proton dose distribution information generating unit, proton dose distribution information based on the instantaneous gamma ray image and the positron emission tomography image;
A method of calculating proton dose distribution information in the body using instantaneous gamma-ray images and positron emission tomography images, including:
The method according to claim 14, wherein the pre-processing step of pre-processing the instantaneous gamma-ray detection information;
A method of calculating in-body proton dose distribution information using an immediate gamma-ray image and a positron emission tomography image, wherein the preprocessor extracts only the detection information within a preset energy range from among the instantaneous gamma-ray detection information acquired by the first acquisition unit.
15. The method of claim 14,
The detector includes a scintillator comprising a plurality of scintillation crystal cells having a polygonal columnar shape coupled and arranged, and a photoelectric conversion that is coupled to one end of the scintillator to convert the scintillation signal transmitted from the scintillator into an electrical signal and output it and a detection circuit unit that is electrically connected to the photoelectric conversion unit and converts the electrical signal transmitted from the photoelectric conversion unit into data through a preset detection algorithm and transmits it to the control module; a first photosensor disposed at the second photosensor disposed at the other end of the plurality of scintillation crystal cells;
The pre-processing unit pre-processing the instantaneous gamma-ray detection information;
When the radiation generated by the proton beam is incident on the plurality of scintillation crystal cells, information on the incident depth to which the radiation reacts in the scintillation crystal cells is grasped, and the position of the first scintillation crystal cell reacted at the shallowest depth is initially determined. Proton dose distribution in the body using instantaneous gamma-ray image and positron emission tomography image, which is a step in which the sum of the energy delivered to the plurality of scintillation crystal cells is regarded as the energy detected by the first scintillation crystal cell after determining the location of the radiation incident Information Calculation Method.
17. The method of claim 16,
Collecting the amount of light generated based on the energy transfer to the plurality of scintillation crystal cells by the radiation in the first photosensor and the second photosensor,
The incident depth information is a method of calculating proton dose distribution information in the body using an instantaneous gamma-ray image and a positron emission tomography image, which is determined based on a ratio of the amount of light collected by the first and second optical sensors.
The method according to claim 14, wherein the pre-processing step of pre-processing the instantaneous gamma-ray detection information;
A method of calculating proton dose distribution information in the body using an instantaneous gamma-ray image and a positron emission tomography image, which is a step of extracting only the detection information within a preset time range from among the instantaneous gamma-ray detection information detected by the detection module.

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